Aluminum Skid Plates?

[TrailHunter]

Hi all,

I'm looking into some skid plates, and have noticed that there are both stainless and aluminum options available. I'm assuming the advantages are avoiding rust and weight savings, but are they durable? I always thought aluminum was soft probably not good for applications like a skid plate were it will bend on rocks.

Does anyone have these or have any advice? Thanks!

 

[McFly2003]

x2

I don't have any info for you but I've been extremely curious about aluminium options for our trucks. If anyone responding to the OP can post up some info on brands/vendors, that'd be great!

 

[zidaro]

Heres a start for ya-
Alum. plates will "grab" a bit more on the rocks. They hold up to some severe abuse and can be bashed back into shape alittle easier than steel. Cost more. Will weaken with cont. bending, and crack- if you can weld alum. this can be repaired. Lighter. If your a serious basher i think i would stick with steel, mild weekend warriors might benefit from the lightness of alum.
If your using Budbuilt you can mix-n-match. Steel front plate with alum. elsewhere if desired.

 

[McFly2003]

As another lighter option, I have been looking into the ARB skids as well, with maybe something a bit heavier gauge on the rear dif and gas tank

 

[mgrande]

I run an aluminum front bumper on my tacoma. Its crazy light and plenty strong. I also have a full set of aluminum Budbuilts on the way. If you're careful with your lines aluminum should be fine, if you tend to smash your truck up go with steel.

 

[DannyLlama]

I run an aluminum front bumper on my tacoma. Its crazy light and plenty strong. I also have a full set of aluminum Budbuilts on the way. If you're careful with your lines aluminum should be fine, if you tend to smash your truck up go with steel.

Who made the Tacoma front bumper?

 

[rbrownlie]

His signature block says, Relentless (Relentless Fabrication), which according to the website does not make a 4Runner Bumper.

I am looking for an aluminum front bumper. Last week, I asked Aluminess in San Diego if they had a Gen 5 front bumper or would make one, and the answer was, no. They said, "Toyota was not very kind with the design of the new model and making bumpers for them is very difficult. When and if we can figure out a way to make them in a way that is affordable to the consumer we will put out a press release."

If you get any leads, please post them.

 

[G8RB8_12SR5]

Thanks for the info on the aluminum skids...now the question I have is would the BudBuilt Lite Steel skid plates be the best of both worlds for weekend warrior-to-moderate offroading? Lighter than the full thickness steel plates but without the added cost of Aluminum and since they're steel they wouldn't "grab" as much but still provide some protection (at least that's how it make sense in my head).

 

[mgrande]

Hofs05 and I just put in a big order with Budbuilt, their customer service was fantastic. I know a lot of people on here weren't fans of the the Budbuilt 4runner bumper, but I think once some see what we ordered they'll change their minds.

 

[TrailHunter]

Thanks for the replies. It seems steel is more suited for off road application. I wonder why aluminum an option when it's not meant for the abuse that the undercarriage takes. I too wonder if the Lite Steel from Budbuilt would be fine for occasional or light off-roading. I'm not sure how that thickness compares to stock skids?

 

[Okki]

These are the stock skids; I'll take the extra weight of steel for the replacements.

I 'fixed' the dent in the gas tank skid plate, but will be switching to Shrockworks skids.

If you are going to be driving over rocks/boulders, I can't say I see a whole lot of sense in aluminum skids, but that's just my two cents.

Okki

 

[GrantK]

Like Okki, I can't see the point of Aluminum skids. Aluminum is roughly 1/3 as strong as steel so you need 3X the thickness to make them as strong as steel. Unless you are only worried about sand, soft dirt or loose gravel I can't see them being any benefit over stock ones. I've even gone to the opposite extreme of ordering custom 3/16" stainless steel ones for the added strength of stainless and no maintenance.

Okki,
Was that a souvenir from Ouray or somewhere else?

 

[Okki]

Okki,
Was that a souvenir from Ouray or somewhere else?

Yeah... Scraped up the support bar on the passenger slider and dented the gas tank skid. Didn't tell the wife about the size of the dent until after we got home LOL otherwise the fun would likely have been over in Ouray. I still got the "you can dent the crap out the gas tank, but you complain when I park at Walmart!" speech LMAO. :hello:

the FJ Summit was awesome though. it was great meeting a bunch of the guys from here and the people overall were very nice and a blast to hang out with. I highly recommend it to anyone whose looking to get some trail time in who needs a little support to get started.

Okki

 

[mgrande]

Have any of you actually see/handled aluminum armor? Its very stout.

 

[Okki]

Have any of you actually see/handled aluminum armor? Its very stout.

I have not personally handled it, but from a metallurgy standpoint, there are a few disadvantages to aluminum. mainly that it tends to crack instead of bend. meaning that while it may provide protection from a boulder once or twice, getting it back into shape is where your problem comes into play.

I'm not knocking the product; just saying that you should evaluate the pros and cons. Once i do that for my situation, the small increase in distributed weight for the steel SW plates over stock is worth it.

Everything about our truck is a trade-off and compromise. You just need to decide which of the choices is most applicable to your specific situation/demands and offers the least draw backs.

Adio3x switched to the aluminum plates from steel if I recall correctly. If he can just roll it over a tree stump like the steel plates, then we'd have a pretty good real world comparison :bravo:

Okki

 

[mgrande]

Yeah I'm not saying aluminum is stronger cause its not. But if your the type of driver that is careful with your lines, it should be good. Now if your the kind of guy that say F it, I got skids, and then start running stuff over then yeah get steel.

 

[GrantK]

Have any of you actually see/handled aluminum armor? Its very stout.

Yes I have handled it, I used to be a machinist.
It's only 1/3 as strong as steel. It may seems sturdy when being handled but that's the difference between being handled and enduring a 3 ton impact.

 

[TrailHunter]

From Budbuilt:

Aluminum is much lighter but much softer. It will bend easily and you can straighten it out a couple of times and then it could begin to actually crack. It is not going to rust but it is also not the best protection for your truck if you are doing a good amount of off-roading.

Stainless steel weighs the same as the regular steel and provides the same level of protection with the added benefit of not rusting. The weight on the 5 piece runs around 200 pounds but offers top protection off road.

 

[mgrande]

Welcome,

This Thread is for reviews of the 2003 4Runner. If you have any NEW reviews, please post them.

Thanks.

Sounds about right. I would also add that you have to evaluate where you wheel. If you're in rocks every time you wheel than steel is best. But if you're on trails where rocks aren't everywhere you should be safe with aluminum. Here in Florida there's only a few places with large rocks so aluminum is just fine.

 

[docru55ia]

for what its worth....

I just discussed this with some PHs in South Africa, where the Toyota land cruiser is the ideal bush vehicle, and these things are tested off road in real conditions daily. They endorsed the use of the aluminum skid plates. I think that the strength is also an exponential function of thickness, so while aluminum is 1/3 the strength, so if it's twice as thick, it's 4 times as strong. I might be wrong about the math of it, but I am going to get a set of plates and we will see how it goes.